3 dead, child missing after vehicle plunges into Delaware canal

MIDDLETOWN, Delaware -- Three people have died and a child remains unaccounted for after a vehicle carrying five people plunged into a Delaware canal on Sunday morning, according to Delaware State Police.

It happened around 9:41 a.m. on the southside of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, roughly one mile west of William V. Roth Jr. Bridge.

The three who perished in the crash include an 18-year-old male driver and his relatives, a 16-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy.

A 6-year-old boy, who is also related to the driver, still remains missing. Police said a 16-year-old girl survived the crash..

Delaware State Police provide an update on a deadly crash along the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal on October 6, 2019.

Delaware State Police said the teen driver, traveling in a Chevy HHR, managed to get out of the vehicle and saved the girl who was also a passenger. He then went back to save the others but he died in the process.

"The lone survivor is a 16-year-old female," said Master Corporal Michael Austin of the Delaware State Police, adding this about the driver: "He was a hero he tried to do everything he could to get the remaining passengers in that vehicle."

18 yr old male driver is confirmed dead, 16 yr old female passenger survived and 3 males who were in the vehicle when it went into the water are unaccounted for. The vehicle is located and crews are working to pull it out of the water. https://t.co/t7KSAhJPPg

The gray vehicle was pulled from the water during a search and recovery operation in the C&D canal in Middletown DE. 18 yr old driver is confirmed dead, 6,12,16 y/o male passengers are unaccounted for and a 16 y/o girl survived. pic.twitter.com/GgSx7Qef8B